This painting focuses on the instrument the guacharaca, known in other areas as the güiro or güira, used in musical genres like vallenato, cumbia and salsa. This instrument always makes an appearance during parties, birthdays, holidays like christmas and new years, the novenas, and any Sunday at my moms house alongside the sancocho and empanadas.
The guacharaca originated from the Tairona, an indigenous group in the Sierra Nevada region, who made the instrument out of palm trees to mimic bird noises. In Tairona practices, shamans led warriors in rituals transforming humans into animals. This piece is framed by caiman skin and just like the reptile this skin comes from, the guacharaca comes in many shapes and forms. Like its shape shifting creators, the instrument can be replicated with a cheese grater and fork. Similar to the 2 headed caiman symbol in my work, this instrument shares my duality of existing in the material and spiritual realms.
